Take the case of Senate Bill 822, a net neutrality bill introduced by State Sen. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco. It should have been a political no-brainer for the Dems on the Assembly Communications and Conveyance Committee when they met on June 20. The bill would have provided the largest rebuff to the Federal Communications Commission’s decision to rescind Obama-era protections from internet service companies controlling what we see when we surf the web.

Instead, Dems on the committee, led by committee chair Miguel Santiago, proceeded to gut the bill and force a vote on it despite Sen. Wiener’s objections and not allowing time for public comment. In the end, the amendments were added to the bill and the forced vote passed 8-2, with four Democrats joining four Republicans to help push it through.

The response was quick and understandably merciless.

“What the committee just did was outrageous,” Wiener said at the time while also asking the committee to withdraw his bill entirely. “These amendments eviscerated the bill. It is no longer a net neutrality bill. I think it was fundamentally unfair.”

So why would an otherwise progressive Los Angeles Assemblymember like Miguel Santiago steamroll a bill that is fundamentally agreeable to anyone who believes in open access to the internet? Two reasons, really. The first one seems simple enough: it’s about the money.

“Giant ISPs like AT&T and Comcast have worked overtime to defeat this bill, including donating a lot of money,” said Ernesto Falcon, Legislative Counsel at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, who cited an article from Gizmodo that all but predicted Santiago would gut the bill thanks to over $29,000 in contributions to his campaign from corporate ISPs like Comcast and AT&T. “Between the money, the disingenuous arguments of the telecoms, and the manipulated process that forced the hostile amendments into the bill, what happened this week shows just what giant corporations can accomplish with willing legislators.”

“The level of corruption we just witnessed literally makes me sick to my stomach,” said Evan Greer, deputy director of Fight for the Future, a digital rights group. “These California Democrats will go down in history as among the worst corporate shills that have ever held elected office.”

And the second reason? The bubble! These assemblymembers—who worked not for the interests of their constituents, but for corporate communication donors—are depending on voters to be ignorant of their actions and simply check their names come reelection time. Plus, they’ll have a nice little chunk of change from telecommunications companies to help bolster their progressiveness to unsuspecting and forgetful voters.

In a statement on Twitter, Santiago tried to play to his followers’ emotions, claiming that he had received threats and his wife had been harassed.

“My personal family pictures have been stolen from my social media platforms and used to create memes,” Santiago said. “Really? Using pictures of my kids? This is a new low.”

But if Santiago’s amendments remain in SB 822, it’s likely that some internet customers won’t be able to access Santiago’s social media at all thanks to amendments that allows ISPs to charge additional fees in exchange for completely free access. This directly benefits corporations and hurts low-income communities. These “zero rating” programs will kill net neutrality and turn the internet into something resembling cable television, where lower-income households will likely have to choose “limited plans” that restrict what websites they can access.

“I stand by my actions and the fact that today, we still have a net neutrality bill to keep working on,” said Santiago, who represents a district in Los Angeles that includes the exact types of low-income households that would be affected by this bill.

Time to get out of the bubble. All voters should let the legislature know they support restoring the original provisions of SB 822 and ensure open internet access to all.

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Comments (1)

Yes, but then they switched it back....

....so whatever was taken out by Miguel Santiago and his crew of cable-company toadies is being put back in. It's a traditional California legislative car-wreck. Trump's speed-addled America works faster than the press.